IRON CREEK. 161 
by its soiling the hands. Here and there some sulphides arc found, 
especially in the places where dislocations occur. 
The greenstones which occur in the Iron Creek region have not been 
studied in detail, but seem to be similar to those found in the adjacent 
country nearer Nome. If this correlation is correct, they are mainly 
of intrusive origin. Rumors were heard of an extrusive flow of green- 
stone south of Iron Creek, but neither was it found in place nor was 
any float of an extrusive greenstone seen, so that doubt is felt about 
the occurrence of a surface flow. 
MI^I^G DEVELOPMENTS. 
GENERAL CONDITIONS. 
Mining on Iron Creek has been much retarded by the inaccessibility 
of the region, but this obstacle is now disappearing with the building 
of railroads and wagon roads. Freight from Nome can now be deliv- 
ered by the Seward Peninsula Railway at the mouth of Iron Creek, but 
the schedule of rates was not learned. It has already been noted that 
in winter supplies can be brought in by team at a cost of 2 cents a 
pound. The cost of summer hauling by team to Iron Creek is now, 
owing to the good condition of the road to Nome, but little higher than 
the winter rate. 
DITCH CONSTRUCTION. 
In 1906 work on Iron Creek and its tributaries had almost ceased 
at the time of the writer's visit in the latter part of September. With 
one exception the work for the season seemed to have been carried on 
by small outfits of only one to five men each, and a liberal estimate of 
the output of the creek and tributaries for the year would not exceed 
$50,000. The most important work during the last season has been 
ditch construction, about 13 miles having been built. One ditch taps 
Eldorado Creek at a point 1 mile above its junction with Telegraph 
Creek and leads the water along the south wall of Iron Creek to a pen- 
stock near the junction of Discovery and Iron creeks. A second ditch 
takes water from Canyon Creek 5 miles above its mouth and leads it 
along the east wall of Iron Creek, thence following the south slope of 
the valley to the west side of Discovery Creek, along which it runs 
southward to a point 2 miles above the mouth of the stream, where 
it crosses and extends along the east side of the valley to the penstock 
previously noted. Another ditch on the north side of Iron Creek, 
which takes its water from the junction of Telegram and Eldorado 
creeks, is also being constructed by the same company. Between 
sixty and seventy men at a time have been employed in the construc- 
tion of these ditches. They were not completed until the latter part 
of September, so that water for washing the gravels was available for 
Bull. 314—07 11 
